beelzebug

mon œil !

2011-06-14T10:53:00.001+05:30

Apparently with no surprise,
To any happy flower,
The frost beheads it at its play,
In accidental power.

dai peter

2011-06-08T11:25:00.001+05:30

spanners on a telephone line

2011-06-07T13:45:00.002+05:30

tools hung out to dry. and a recuperating fuel tank.

kochi kat klan

2011-06-03T02:16:00.001+05:30

fort kochi's cat collection.

forever loving bob

2011-06-03T01:51:00.004+05:30

malus are quick to appropriate all manner of icons. we build football shrines with lifesize replicas of Argentina's entire football team. cardboat cut-outs of che guevara regularly compete for space in god's own country, with giant hoardings for jewelery. and now, we officially even celebrate bob marley jayanthi. in fort kochi.

scheming to jump

2011-05-16T11:47:00.005+05:30

for some time now, have been plotting a move. from blogspot. and have finally got around to working on it. coming soon, the big shift.

windmill worries

2011-04-26T17:23:00.003+05:30

"Something there is that doesn't love a windmill." Meanwhile I've just discovered Lightroom - yes yes have been living under a rock and all. Many thanks to KS Pradeep for showing me the way.

khasta kata baccha

2011-04-25T13:58:00.003+05:30

deep fried thingies followed by some syrupy sweets for breakfast every day, keeps your cardiologist smiling.

the interpreter of masalas

2011-04-25T13:26:00.004+05:30

to navigate the labyrinthine world of indian masalas and assorted knickknacks you'd best enlist a wise guide and an adventurous stomach.

there's a drumstick in my sambhar

2011-04-15T09:55:00.001+05:30

the story of ganga...

2011-04-12T10:03:00.001+05:30

...as we all know is the story of india itself. harumph.

too hawt

2011-04-11T10:06:00.001+05:30

would kill for an icy dip.

weird like that in cawnpore

2011-04-06T11:12:00.002+05:30

sing. dance. eat. wall art from a hotel in cawnpore.

fitter filter kaapi

2011-04-05T17:10:00.002+05:30

90% kaapi. 10% chicory. i'm in love all over again.

goat lover

2011-04-01T12:04:00.002+05:30

and if any further proof of browne's great affection for goats was required, here you go.

the impish nephew

2011-04-01T11:04:00.001+05:30

sheep in the high ranges

2011-03-31T21:56:00.004+05:30

i wonder what happened to this 1000-strong herd of goat and sheep we ran into last year. have they all become sweaters in ludhiana? or rogan josh in srinagar?

duty unto death

2011-03-30T10:26:00.002+05:30

spare a thought for our world-weary security guards, who have unreasonable diktats to follow and an entire lifetime to kill.

irfan, don

2011-03-29T13:50:00.003+05:30

Syed Irfan, proprietor of E Series Mobile Zone and his beloved Don. The Great Dane responds to instructions like “sit", "stand", "come", "go" and "attack”.

horse kumar

2011-03-29T13:01:00.004+05:30

On Albert Victor Road, Horse Kumar and his work force.

les palaces

2011-03-28T14:42:00.003+05:30

Jaipur's nightlife. A new camera. A return to photography. Perhaps.

babaji

2011-02-01T13:02:00.000+05:30

a hookah smoking, multi-coloured mountaineer.

back to the pit

2011-01-31T17:47:00.004+05:30

after way too long, i returned to the photographer's pit. seen here is bruce lee mani.

bring your daughter...

2010-12-22T17:18:00.002+05:30

... to the slaughter! basavaiah of basavanagudi and his beloved beti.

pond life

2010-12-17T10:18:00.001+05:30

i spend way too much time staring into ponds and aquariums.

urgus unrest

2010-11-02T14:07:00.002+05:30

above, the modest homes in urgus. each year when winter sets in, the handful of residents in the hamlet, shut themselves in and wait out the season. we imagined ourselves locked in for a good five months with nothing to do and found the proposition altogether agreeable. we were also able to arrive on a consensus for the list of things we must have in such a scenario - giant screen tv, playstation, fast internet connection and of course lots of good food and alcohol.

hale mane

2010-11-01T17:11:00.002+05:30

one heritage home in vv puram. complete with no parking sign and the moon. thank you.

more bovines on request

2010-10-30T15:34:00.006+05:30

this specimen of the genus Bos was spotted most recently on food street. unmindful of abusive cops and other noisy masticators, our dear friend raided dustbin after dustbin on the 500 metre stretch of tar dedicated to vegetarian munchies.

dzos and dzomos

2010-10-30T12:47:00.003+05:30

these curious hybrids of yak and cattle love common salt. and can be incredibly persistent once they know you have some.

you snooze you win

2010-10-26T09:45:00.002+05:30

passing out with a view.

gory ganeshas

2010-10-25T16:51:00.002+05:30

polythene wrapped and glitter sporting gods that nobody picked up at this year's festivities.

my one functional ear

2010-10-08T14:47:00.004+05:30

overheard telephone conversation on BVK Iyengar Road. between one linguistically gifted man and a linguistically challenged lady.

"malayalam arayo?.....er.. tamil teriyuma? kannada gotha?"

after a long pause... with more urgency and exasperation.

"hindi?...... telugu?....... marathi?"

then one final attempt.

"english?"

*click*

kushti classes

2010-10-08T12:52:00.002+05:30

well, some good folks decided that the inane disconnected drivel i put up here was worth paying for! and commissioned me! wah wah. click here for the full photo essay i did for Janaagraha, a bangalore-based org. and keep coming back for more.

sparrows on an electric line

2010-09-29T11:57:00.002+05:30

conferring on a good spot to brush teeth, wash face, etc.

challing chicken

2010-09-27T20:35:00.003+05:30

the last standing rooster in the last village we'd see for days. somehow we curbed our instincts and let him live.

chintu gets a new pair of shoes

2010-09-22T23:13:00.001+05:30

for good luck and tar roads.

amilam pamilam

2010-09-21T20:44:00.004+05:30

the children of gavipuram. and their blood sport.

garden graphic

2010-09-18T13:31:00.002+05:30

deepu from keylong...

2010-09-17T14:41:00.003+05:30

...giggled, cried, laughed, sulked, asked too many questions and reminded everybody in a certain shared taxi, about the wonders of contraception.

the urgus enquiry

2010-09-14T10:40:00.006+05:30

a report on the state of interior decoration in the hamlet of urgus, in the greater himalayas.

fort foto

2010-09-14T09:13:00.002+05:30

i too want to be a japaneeeese tourist

aye hiphopper!

2010-09-13T18:28:00.002+05:30

tere ghar mein bartan shartan manjhti hun main brabar
tu kabhi to mere dil ke ghar mein pochha kar diya kar
god! she thinks she's hot like rekha
maybe but she's not my flavour
loving her is too much labour labour labour
how can i start her hip hopper
she's my bai just a part time naukar

just give me some hip hop

aye hip hopper mujhe pyaar to kar aye hip hopper

aye hip hopper mujhe pyaar to kar aye hip hopper!

terrace gardens

2010-09-12T18:55:00.001+05:30

"rambo" cafe and beyond.

the brotherhood of the banana pancake

2010-09-09T16:56:00.002+05:30

and their anthem.

the illustrated light on cheese

2010-09-06T17:35:00.002+05:30

pigs will fly. cars will fly.

close to the sun.

pigs will burn. cars will burn.

but my acid wash jeans will last forever.

birds of prey

2010-09-01T12:05:00.003+05:30

lorry art from a traffic jam at the Rohtang pass.

michael, my camel

2010-08-06T10:20:00.004+05:30

for one box of chocolates, a certain michael from london got a rajasthani camel herder to name one of his camels after him. the other artiodactyls in the vicinity go by 'kalu', 'ramu', etc.

patwon ki haveli

2010-08-06T10:11:00.001+05:30

guman chand patwa's haveli was once home to his five sons. today korean tourists will pay his descendants handsomely to explode puffed up polythene bags and get the darned pigeons to fly.

the reticent thar

2010-08-05T22:02:00.002+05:30

the temperamentally disinclined to talk, nilgiri thar.

planters inc.

2010-08-05T21:57:00.002+05:30

planters are a curious bunch. i too am now the proud owner of planters' gum boots. cannot wait to set bangalore's fashion press on fire.

territorial animals

2010-05-19T07:34:00.002+05:30

frogs sing. dogs and cats spray urine. teenagers leave hickeys. rajasthani men stick posters.

gubbi outtakes

2010-01-06T10:32:00.003+05:30

they never run out of crassy one-liners and red jackets at Gubbi Veeranna Rangamandira.

the case of the not-so-grotesque gargoyle

2009-09-11T10:04:00.001+05:30

this HDR business needs further investigation, i feel.

mountain mates

2009-09-11T09:38:00.001+05:30

our marlboro man for all seasons.

crocodile, crocodile...

2009-09-11T08:53:00.002+05:30

which colour do you choose?

wedding and sons.

2009-09-03T14:15:00.002+05:30

more service to society.

there are only 2 parachutes...

2009-07-20T18:20:00.004+05:30

... the president gets one and says...

(Parachute XVI - first look)

from a shoot on a happy day with the band and browne

head over. have a listen

चाय जवान

2009-07-07T14:46:00.004+05:30

tea and wonderfully random conversation maker. savera tea stall, shivajinagar.

polka paati

2009-07-06T11:55:00.002+05:30

chikka-nagamma. dodda-heart.

late morning greys

2009-07-04T11:34:00.003+05:30

bismillah khan's hands. from another equally languid morning.

children of the photo frame

2009-04-30T17:40:00.004+05:30

ermmm.

slight return

2009-04-18T19:33:00.002+05:30

the camera makes a reappearance. please note the eager lads waiting for khatna on the billboard.

that theyyam time again

2009-01-09T13:44:00.001+05:30

malu neolithic and chalcolithic expression is ready to rear its painted head once again. the costumes are being dusted. the chickens are being fattened. theyyam is around the corner.

the wedding camera fiend

2009-01-08T17:42:00.003+05:30

it's the downturn. but people will always want to marry. and people always want to remember. and that's why a wedding photographer will always find gainful employment. my services, for a price. hazy pictures for those who want hazy memories.

thimakka of the trees

2008-12-02T12:40:00.002+05:30

the dreams are lucid these days. i put it down to the weather. last night thimakka of the trees made an appearance. i wish her well. and the 400 odd banyan trees, she calls her children.

bellis bhavan

2008-09-26T10:38:00.005+05:30

at the very pretty foot of a monster rock where tigers, elephants and minor earthquakes roam, lives the bellis. under attack from tea bushes on all sides, 'chinna dorai' hurries his manservants about the place, pauses to pluck a weed from his sprawling lawns and contemplates on which bathroom he will use today.

memories of wrinked dostoevskys and fierce football battles mingle with the smells of a coming harvest as the bellis sits bewildered at his somewhat erratic computer. meanwhile a lone nilgiri thar stares on curiously.

super das and the invader

2008-09-23T12:08:00.003+05:30

super das - little known off-road driver. loves bananas and bad roads. invader - bolero, mahindra. i want one.

tri colour tramp

2008-08-13T12:43:00.003+05:30

subhash chandra bose from davangere makes his annual pilgrimage to bangalore every august. as he marches down m.g. road, proudly waving the tricolour, with a legion of flags and bharat mata merchandise all over him and in his bag, he quickly picks up a tail of curious onlookers.

"they won't let me anywhere near the high court or the legislative assembly," he complains. and in bucolic disbelief he asks you pointing at his half-a-football-field sized flag, "how can they not let her in anywhere in this country". he wants to meet the chief minister. he has a bone to pick.

he insists he isn't a clever sales pitch. the money he makes selling flags, badges and other tokens of allegiance barely covers his costs. it's more about a small town fella telling the big city boys about all the people who fought tooth and nail for the freedom we all take for granted. choke. choke. "tomorrow," he tells the gathering. "i will be bhagat singh".

"the king of mysore pak"

2008-08-08T11:52:00.003+05:30

tucked away in the bustle of balepet is sri venkateshwara sweetmeat stall - no branches. the gentleman who set up this landmark destination for the sweet toothed also holds the distinction of introducing to the world, mysore pak as we know it. while the harder and porous version was the find of an ingenious cook in the erstwhile maharaja of mysore's kitchen, the more refined mysore pak that dissolves as soon as it makes contact with your tongue was entirely this establishment's improvement.

and for the last 70 years, sri venkateshwara sweetmeat stall - no branches, has held fort as the foremost makers of special mysore pak. imitations abound and the tamil folks true to their DNA, even tried making this very kannada sweet their own. they call it mysure pa. and even throw in fancy packaging. needless to say, they're not even a patch on what the tiny grimy 8x8 balepet hole in the wall offers.

orders pour in, expectedly from our techie expat brothers in the US and the UK. but sri venkateshwara sweetmeat stall - no branches also counts abdul kalam, jaffer sharrief (who shouldn't be going anywhere near anything with so much ghee), the late dr. raj and chiranjeevi among its patrons. the otherwise non-descript corner chokes on a wide array of automobiles from rickshaws to the swankiest sedans as the faithful queue up for thier manna at rs 280 a kilo.

occasionally a peasant from north of the vindhyas turns up having heard so many compliments about the condiments and is shocked to find the place so small and unassuming. he then typically proceeds to further display his complete ignorance of the exquisite by enquiring if by meat in sweetmeat they actually mean meat? just for these folks, tucked away behind the legions of mysore pak trays is a little dictionary that elucidates. sweetmeat - Noun. A sweetened delicacy (as a preserve or pastry)

macabro

2008-08-05T15:35:00.000+05:30

execution by python. tattooed virgins. african love school. jungle manhood rites. male geisha girls. russian roulette with diesel trains. macabro - see the world in the raw. stripped bare before your startled eyes.

rub-a-dub sky

2008-08-05T14:53:00.000+05:30

tea bushes tearing through my track pants. an out of bounds wildlife sanctuary tantalizingly close. the vague musty smell of an elephant. good company and a blue sky. i hate my cubicle.

shola stich

2008-07-25T11:45:00.001+05:30

i've broken a forest dept. law as well. sneaked into eravikulam national park this last week for the view of a lifetime. shola stretching as far as the eye could see. and niligiri thars roaming the horizons. staring nervously at us trespassers. as we stared back in awe at a sight seldom seen by human eyes.

click pic for bigger pic

lionfish redux

2008-07-25T10:24:00.000+05:30

haha. lionfish had to make a reappearance. turns out, local watering hole, maya - was a little in the dark and caught on the wrong side of the law. living corals and all that exotic fish in a smallish glass box is a no-no as far as the forest dept. is concerned. i would have appreciated some amount of thought on the effects of erratic neon lighting, all that bad muzak and all kinds of blotto folk staring, tapping, etc at those poor things as well. run lionfish run. you're free.

my name is ozymandias, king of kings...

2008-07-23T11:24:00.001+05:30

...look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!

phantom rock

2008-07-22T15:48:00.000+05:30

tucked away in a corner of kerala is the erstwhile home of the ghost who walks.

to bug...

2008-07-21T14:25:00.001+05:30

... or not to bug.

can jump will jump

2008-07-07T15:24:00.000+05:30

roheenda pulls a kneivel

training day

2008-07-07T14:49:00.000+05:30

i further my flash fetish.

bal talk

2008-07-07T12:44:00.000+05:30

"next time, don't bring your camera. bring a cheque."

light load

2008-07-03T11:25:00.000+05:30

"turn your lights down low. pull the window curtains in. don't let the moon come shining in. into our lives again."

eshu on a hill

2008-07-02T13:35:00.000+05:30

some 15 crosses dot a nottoofaraway hill. they once looked out over fields of gold. now they lord over rusting mining gear and a somewhat unhurried people who will gladly let you know, "there's nothing left to see here."

gates open at eight

2008-06-27T15:07:00.000+05:30

black dog. green grass. good life.

small flower, big world

2008-05-21T12:30:00.000+05:30

the earth laughs in flowers

fast lady

2008-05-20T16:39:00.000+05:30

this last weekend's highlight was one turbocharged driver who was particularly unforgiving on the braking. the result was a brake failure with serendipitous timing.

after the somewhat dampening discovery that we'd lost our brakes along the way, wise counsel prevailed followed by a small detour to the nearest mechanic. a near nanogenarian, resembling an oracle in his obscurity of thought, behind rayban aviators and an impeccable safari suit, narrowed down the problem. "it's the brakes." gee, thanks. but a greased clique of mechanics nodded with unbridled awe.

turns out, we'd driven in to a garage run by the one time royal mechanic of the maharaja of mysore. and this all-knowing owl was the only one trusted with the maharaja's harem of automotive pleasure.

and one stellar specimen, fast lady, from the maharaja's harem shone brightly in a heady mix of her original paint job and warm diffused sunlight in one nondescript corner of raj auto garage.

banavasi - one old temple please

2008-05-09T16:33:00.000+05:30

an ancient pillar towers out from the earth, a sore middle finger of defiance. sticking it in the face of two and a half millenia, a perennial muggy forecast, untiring invading hordes and the odd graffiti maniac.

all around the madhukeshwara temple, time has overridden an ancient city and all its good sense. but within madhukeshwara's modest perimeter, history puffs on unabated. a time bubble that refuses to be pricked.

two thousand five hundred years! you've got to try and fathom how long that is while you sip on your refrigerated bottled water and simultaneously wonder why your aircon seems to have given up all together. meanwhile all those years ago in banavasi, some royal chap had the native good judgement to build an impressive behemoth of a temple out of stone. while the world swelters outside, inside madhukeshwar it's a lulling cool.

banavasi is not a discernible dot on most maps. a fall from grace for what was once an ancient centre of civilization. while in more far flung circles, man was still crawling on all fours and foraging for berries, closer home in banavasi one of the world's foremost metropolis flourished. perhaps that was hyperbole. but if you were to breathe the wind that still blows through banavasi's only survivor from those times - the madhukeshwara temple, you'd have to say - wooooh.

fat cat

2008-05-07T13:11:00.000+05:30

mustafa, the cat who knows too much, makes a reappearance. he's grown in years and kilos. but scratches, purrs and assaults all kind of inanimate objects with much the same gusto.

mela mêlée

2008-05-02T14:24:00.000+05:30

deep in the bovine hinterland of north kanara, a perennial calm rests easily on the jungles, the gurgling brooks, the potholed highways and the occasional traveling mela as well.

the mela company master howls the attractions of the day into a megaphone. crackling over the din of a creaky giant ferris wheel, a hundred kids howling for another ride and the curious onlooker's incessant pan chewing, he manages those statutory few words in the local tongue. "banni banni banni." and they all flock to the ticket counters.

basavanna had no milk in her udders for the past week. the crops are dying and taking the farmers along with them too. but everything is forgotten as an entire village lines up with a shiny 5 rupee coin each, to stare in awe at half a dozen barnumesque women pour each other cups of tea, stitch a frock, knit a sweater... all this with only their feet. le filles s'en foutent.

bed a hardworking appetite with bhel from the cart. wash down the day's vagaries with slightly suspect watermelon juice. spend your life's savings on an inflated cat. cry tonight. laugh tomorrow. i'm back. because i'm broke.

R.I.P.

2008-03-07T17:21:00.000+05:30

somebody turned off the lights. odie's no more. :(

i've got a bike...

2008-03-07T12:19:00.000+05:30

... and you can ride it if you like. sorry. horribly bored. with blogger and more.

me on neatorama

2008-02-06T14:07:00.000+05:30

uber-cool, bizarre and weird blog, neatorama has a post with my picture and a link back to here. do check it out. it's a happy day.

Permalink on Neatorama

beach bow bow

2008-01-30T01:45:00.000+05:30

how i wish i was tumbleweed.

street talk in paro

2008-01-24T01:41:00.000+05:30

the memories are quickly fading. paro is but a blur. notes from a charming town.

bend it like bendi

2008-01-14T16:35:00.000+05:30

my copper bones will bend over this way. and that. all for you. zhoom in for full impact. somebody turn on the stereo.

merry and all...

2007-12-24T16:07:00.001+05:30

merry xmas. happy new year. and all of that. i'm disappearing for a bit. meanwhile i've discovered play-doh!

kandakarnan

2007-12-19T12:07:00.001+05:30

in better times his flaming headgear could be spotted from a couple of miles. a cue for everybody to gather their feet in well worn hawaiiiis and rush to kandakarnan’s court.

he hissed and spat and bit off chicken heads. petty kings and marco polo stared on in awe. kandakarnan was master of all.

today, for a god he is exceptionally accommodating. the occasional duck to avoid an overhead telephone cable. the local red party boss is taking his time over an other cuppa. kandakarnan whose fury of yore could burn your house down now has to twiddle his burning thumbs.

temple drummers work up their usual frenzy. ball of fire follows ball of fire. whoops and cries and a golden sickle to brandish. in god’s own country, when the kids don’t sleep, mothers drop kandakarnan's name. move over gabbar.

browne on the #150

2007-12-17T08:14:00.001+05:30

browne dons the war paint in another weird departure from sanity. girls giggled. men marveled. the monster from the nadirs of darkness has risen. hair first. meanwhile it's a merry # 150 for me.

d for dzong

2007-12-11T16:22:00.000+05:30

winter is in the bones. and i remember a year ago at drukyel dzong. bhutan's last outpost that in medieval times fought away invading chinese millions with a handful of sharp archers.

in their frocky khos, archers lined up behind drukyel dzong's baked walls and aimed and rained arrows on the hordes. that was many centuries ago. today the walls are crumbling under the weight of one too many indian tourists' graffiti onslaught. i love you rani. kemcharan das, patna 1996.
one year later i'm still besotted. with 3 days in paro. when paradise briefly relented a peek. in bhutan something strange touched me.

and it continues to itch.

good lord

2007-12-05T14:55:00.001+05:30

that's it. if this is where online videos are headed i'm signing up for president of the armchair travelers of the world.

R.I.P.

2007-12-02T15:33:00.000+05:30

evel knievel made one last jump. to the other side.

now on sands

2007-11-30T10:00:00.000+05:30

was plodding through salt polythene bags sea shells urchins and the rich russian chick's rottweiler's poo. it was a lovely day to stare at the sand.

the sand has stories. shoe sizes and smoked ciggies. and the occasional sleeping dog to stumble over.

i am dundee.

itch in my shoe. it's that time of the year again. and there are so many many chains. woe.